If you think your business doesn’t need a chatbot, think again. Chatbots have the power to streamline workflows and provide better service, making them a fit for every industry. They improve everyone’s experience—from employees to customers—by finding opportunities where tasks can be automated so that employees have more time to focus on the interpersonal aspects at the heart of their roles. Plus, when chatbots are equipped with the decision-making capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI), companies can trust customers are still receiving high quality service because these bots can solve complex inquiries on their own. Customers will enjoy faster, higher quality service, and businesses will reduce operational costs while improving conversions.
Wondering where a chatbot fits within your business model? Consider your most pressing employee and customer needs—it’s likely a chatbot can take on responsibilities to alleviate those demands. Here are some examples from organizations in five different industries to get you started:
Combine the Power of People and Bots in Education
AI brings the best of automation and one-on-one interactions together to provide solutions in higher education. This is helpful for university contact centers that field high volumes of questions from potential students, current students, alumni, faculty, and parents. It’s simply impossible for a representative to know the answer to every question—or be able to answer them all in a timely manner—and searching for resources slows down their workflow, frustrating the people waiting.
That’s where AI technology can help internally by supporting agents. A visitor can ask a question via live chat and the system will source answers from pre-written responses and relevant articles for the agent to choose from. With just one click, the agent can send a response without digging for answers.
A university doesn’t have to collect a comprehensive database of answers to start using an AI bot; agents can add them as they go from common questions they see being asked repeatedly. For instance, if there is a surge in students, families, and faculty asking about COVID-19 protocols, an agent may write up an answer or link to a resource so that when the question comes up again, they are prepared.
Don’t Miss a Beat with B2B Marketing
The versatility of chatbots means one business can customize them to deploy at multiple points in the customer journey. For example, a customer support chatbot can guide customers through the sales funnel to maximize the impact of B2B marketing and sales efforts. At the top of the funnel, chatbots can keep prospects from bouncing on landing pages by stepping in to provide instant answers or book an appointment with the sales team. The bot can also identify key visitors to the website and then proactively engage with the user to answer questions, send individualized content, or suggest next steps to move them towards a purchase decision.
Post-sale, customers can use chatbots to make payments or follow up on information regarding their account. The chatbot can be a 24/7 customer success manager to simplify the onboarding process, educate customers about your platform, and upsell when a customer is most likely to convert. This extra support through the sales process ensures nothing falls through the cracks, and B2B companies are taking advantage of every customer opportunity.
Provide Empathy and Efficiency in Healthcare
Thoughtful customer service is integral to the healthcare industry, and AI chatbots ensure providers can deliver the best care. Chatbots can support logistics such as booking a doctor’s appointment or checking whether their insurance is accepted by a certain clinic. This can save patients hours on the phone or scrolling futilely for the information they need to get care, especially considering healthcare office hours usually conflict with patients’ work schedules.
Beyond these clerical services, chatbots can also act as an initial screening for patients who may be uncomfortable talking to a real doctor. This doesn’t mean that AI chatbots provide medical advice—we’ll leave that to the experts—but rather that they are able to detect potential risks to scale a problem to a human physician or inform a patient to seek immediate medical care. In these cases, the AI chatbot can show empathy through scripted messages and assure patients they are in good hands with their care provider. This combination of convenience and emotional intelligence that AI bots provide is ideal for the healthcare industry, where efficiency and kindness are essential.
Manage a Wealth of Resources for the Finance Industry
AI-powered chatbots are an ideal companion to a bank’s abundant embedded resources to support customers’ frequently asked questions. For example, a client who is curious about applying for a mortgage would be able to ask the bot about requirements and receive personalized service. The chatbot could check their records with the bank and compare them to a mortgage’s requirements. Then, it could provide next steps to help a customer become eligible with helpful links, images, and videos to deepen the client’s financial understanding.
Alternatively, the chatbot could suggest available appointments with a bank representative and book a time to fully meet that client’s needs. The bot could add the meeting to the employee’s calendar and send a reminder text to the customer as the appointment approaches. As a result, financial institutions can keep busy schedules moving and cut down on no-shows.
Boost Sales in ECommerce
Online shopping can require extensive time searching for the right product, and it’s a common occurrence that consumers abandon their shopping carts to scope out a competitor’s website before making a purchase. An AI chatbot can be deployed to prevent this and, in turn, drive increased sales. While on your website, a consumer can quickly ask the bot for the product they need, determine their size, or even get styling advice.
Chatbots can also initiate the conversation when they notice a customer showing signs of cart abandonment. The bot can trigger an email sequence to remind the customer of their cart, which has been proven to reduce abandonment rates by up to 15%, with text sequences performing even better. Chatbots can also start up a conversation when a customer is eligible for a promotional offer, leading to an increase in upselling and cross-selling.
Plus, chatbots can easily integrate with eCommerce sites like Shopify for easy and convenient set-up. Companies can customize their bot with their logo and color schemes to keep branding consistent with the store’s look and feel, helping to provide a chat service that is as attractive as it is useful.
Bringing a Chatbot on Board
Whatever line of work you’re in, consider adopting a chatbot to improve operations and deliver a superior experience to employees and customers alike. Whether you opt for an in-app chatbot, a cross-channel chatbot, or a website chatbot, AI chatbots deliver impressive results. Internally, having chatbots fulfill certain tasks for employees leads to individuals accomplishing more throughout the day, and with less stress. You’ll also strengthen the emotional connections with your customers, which leads to higher satisfaction, loyalty, and even advocacy for your business as their positive experiences make them more likely to recommend you to others.
